(Continued from below) profit from cruelty, more people will hopefully come to realize that there is no better friend and family member than a shelter dog. At the same time I think it is time for a change in leadership at Manatee County. The poor decisions, poor results, poor animal health, poor conditions and poor performance at Animal Services should not lead to promotions.
Sari strikes again with more thoughtful, informative writing. While I am certainly pleased that the County finally allows potential adopters to see ALL the available dogs, what the heck took so long? In my lifetime of adopting dogs, I have never approached an adoption knowing I wanted a 47.3 lb, 3.5 years old, blue eyed, long tailed, black dog w/white paws. I think very few people approach adoption that way. Yet it took 4 1/2 years for the person in charge of MCAW to change the 2020 Covid rule. Like Sari writes, we may go in with a general idea, but more often than not, it becomes a love at first sight adoption. My best friend picked a dog that was heartworm positive, scared to death, shy, skinny mutt from Hillsborough County's shelter. Houdini has been her soul mate for 15 years. They don't just communicate, they have full conversations. For 4.5 years, that kind of magic has been prohibited due to poor management at our public shelter. That refusal to allow shelter visitors to actually see the dogs is just one of a long list of poor management decisions under the same Animal Services leader that was hired in 2016. I have described many other examples of mismanagement under this same leadership, including the 2020 hiring of her Pinellas County workout partner to be the shelter's first Volunteer Coordinator. In 2022, as staff and volunteers struggled to get the dogs out for just 2 short walks a day, the VC created barriers to volunteering such as requiring multiple trips to the shelter to wash dishes, do laundry, and schedule a guided tour of the grounds before the person was allowed to begin 5 days of training. Yes, 5 days of spending 2 hours watching someone else walk a dog. Training is important, but walking a dog is not rocket science. One or 2 days with an experienced person, then start with the creampuffs. In a couple weeks, move up to the jumpers, then the pullers and so on. In 2022, over 500 people applied to volunteer - most never picked up a leash due to the bottleneck created by MCAW leadership. A private citizen working from home, with the Chief's permission had to get the program back on track. That Volunteer Coordinator has moved on, thankfully... The leader that hired her and looked the other way was promoted to Deputy Director. Like Sari - I encourage people to please visit adoptapalooza. There are over 100 dogs at our shelter - anyone that has room in their home can find the right match. As we also move toward shutting down the puppy stores that make a profit from cruelty, more people will hopefully come to realize that there is no better friend and family member than a shelter dog. I just think it is time for a change in leadership at Manatee County. The poor decisions, poor results, poor animal health, poor conditions and poor performance at Animal Services should not lead to promotions.
(Continued from below) profit from cruelty, more people will hopefully come to realize that there is no better friend and family member than a shelter dog. At the same time I think it is time for a change in leadership at Manatee County. The poor decisions, poor results, poor animal health, poor conditions and poor performance at Animal Services should not lead to promotions.
Sari strikes again with more thoughtful, informative writing. While I am certainly pleased that the County finally allows potential adopters to see ALL the available dogs, what the heck took so long? In my lifetime of adopting dogs, I have never approached an adoption knowing I wanted a 47.3 lb, 3.5 years old, blue eyed, long tailed, black dog w/white paws. I think very few people approach adoption that way. Yet it took 4 1/2 years for the person in charge of MCAW to change the 2020 Covid rule. Like Sari writes, we may go in with a general idea, but more often than not, it becomes a love at first sight adoption. My best friend picked a dog that was heartworm positive, scared to death, shy, skinny mutt from Hillsborough County's shelter. Houdini has been her soul mate for 15 years. They don't just communicate, they have full conversations. For 4.5 years, that kind of magic has been prohibited due to poor management at our public shelter. That refusal to allow shelter visitors to actually see the dogs is just one of a long list of poor management decisions under the same Animal Services leader that was hired in 2016. I have described many other examples of mismanagement under this same leadership, including the 2020 hiring of her Pinellas County workout partner to be the shelter's first Volunteer Coordinator. In 2022, as staff and volunteers struggled to get the dogs out for just 2 short walks a day, the VC created barriers to volunteering such as requiring multiple trips to the shelter to wash dishes, do laundry, and schedule a guided tour of the grounds before the person was allowed to begin 5 days of training. Yes, 5 days of spending 2 hours watching someone else walk a dog. Training is important, but walking a dog is not rocket science. One or 2 days with an experienced person, then start with the creampuffs. In a couple weeks, move up to the jumpers, then the pullers and so on. In 2022, over 500 people applied to volunteer - most never picked up a leash due to the bottleneck created by MCAW leadership. A private citizen working from home, with the Chief's permission had to get the program back on track. That Volunteer Coordinator has moved on, thankfully... The leader that hired her and looked the other way was promoted to Deputy Director. Like Sari - I encourage people to please visit adoptapalooza. There are over 100 dogs at our shelter - anyone that has room in their home can find the right match. As we also move toward shutting down the puppy stores that make a profit from cruelty, more people will hopefully come to realize that there is no better friend and family member than a shelter dog. I just think it is time for a change in leadership at Manatee County. The poor decisions, poor results, poor animal health, poor conditions and poor performance at Animal Services should not lead to promotions.